Lewis-johnson Have Competition

PARIS — The first showdown between Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson since the 1988 Olympics is expected to bring the crowd to the BNP meet on July 1, but it may not be the best race.

The top race figures to be the 200 meters, featuring Leroy Burrell, who set a world record in the 100 meters last week, and Michael Johnson, the top- ranked runner in both the 200 and 400 last year.

Organizers Tuesday released a preliminary list of athletes expected to enter the meet in Villeneuve d`Ascq, France.

Lewis and Ben Johnson have signed a reported $500,000 contract for their race.

Johnson won in 9.79 when they last met in the Summer Olympic in Seoul. Two days later, he was disqualified after testing positive for steroids. His times of 9.79 that day, as well as the 9.83 he ran in 1987, lost out as world records.

Burrell had a choice of entering the 100 or 200 in the BNP meet. He opted for the 200 for a confrontation with the other Johnson-Michael, who has been flirting with the 200 world record.

Some of the other top athletes scheduled to compete are Sergei Bubka in the pole vault, Said Aouita in the mile and Paul Ereng in the 1,000 meters.